#Tech: Is Giving Up Your #Privacy A Fair Trade For Some #Convenience?

Is your privacy a fair trade for some convenience? The answer should always be “No.” No one should subject themselves to constant surveillance and data mining by private companies for using their products or services. Giving up too much personal information to use mobile apps to get attention (and validation) from strangers should never be the norm. Unfortunately, it’s hard to see that when you’re waist deep in the hype and trends.

It’s perfectly fine for consumers to provide personal information that are necessary and relevant to a business transaction (like making a purchase), but it’s totally unacceptable for the said company to continuously monitor you and collect sensitive data like a parole officer.

Consumers have (in most cases, unknowingly) given up so much of their privacy for the sake of a little fun and some convenience. Why? Because Big Tech has little or no oversight on data collection. If there are any, it’s either laxly or rarely enforced.

This needs to change! Lawmakers shouldn’t wait for another scandal to happen before they finally tackle consumer privacy. They need to wake up and catch up, and put in place sound legislation to prevent private companies from further exploiting the privacy of billions of consumers worldwide. Provisions of “opting out” isn’t enough, the practice needs to stop.